This is my Friend...

This is my friend.

We'll call her Angy! Because that is what her name is :)


She is really cute don't you think?
What is cuter about Angy is her personality! She is ADORABLE, and really the second you meet her, you instantly like her.

She is ALWAYS happy! She is organized, crafty and talented in many ways. She has four active boys who participate in all kinds of sports. But of all her talents- the talent I admire most about her is her personality. Everyone likes her, and she really enjoys life to it's fullest. This used to make me mad actually. I couldn't figure out how she could be so happy ALL the time. I've learned a lot from Angy.

 As I got to know her better, I noticed something over and over about her personality. Although her home was always clean and she was organized, she didn't seem to bog herself down with some of the silly little "rules" that I set for myself. I really think she gave herself permission to enjoy life. In contrast, I tend to put limits on my joy, I often find myself saying something like "I will sit down and enjoy my day after I ___________."

She was always  looking for ways to share little rays of sunshine with people all around her. By doing this, she surrounded herself with warmth and friendship.

I think that too often we bog ourselves down with silly little rules or boundaries. I'm not really sure where these rules come from. But they prevent us from enjoying life each and every day. We might decide we will buy an awesome outfit AFTER we lose 10 pounds. We might decide we are too old to learn a new craft. We might think we HAVE to learn a new craft because it seems like the thing to do, even though we don't enjoy it. Whatever it is, why are putting all these boundaries on ourselves?? It just doesn't make sense.

If we were sent here to have joy, why do we keep putting stipulations on reaching for this joy?

This is my friend Linda.

You guessed it, we'll call her Linda because that is her name.
She is a lot like Angy. She is beautiful, talented and very witty. She was one of the first people I met in California and I hoped instantly that we would be friends.
She is big believer in enjoying life too. She doesn't stress the small stuff and she does what she enjoys.

She doesn't make cute handouts for her lessons at church and she doesn't spend a lot of effort on things that she knows won't be enjoyed.


If you enjoy spending hours and energy making 75 cute invitations to a potluck party, go ahead- because you enjoy it. But if it doesn't make you happy,
and you end up angry with your kids
and yelling at your husband
and in the end 69 of the recipients will throw their invites in the garbage and 5 people won't even grab an invite- maybe consider making a scaled down invite instead.

I've learned a lot from Linda too.
I've learned that beauty MIGHT appear to be skin deep,
but that the real beauty in life,
the lasting beauty definitely comes from within.

This is my friend Natalie,

well it is actually her daughter & my daughter, but it is all I could find oops!

and I stalked her down in a grocery store 12 years ago!
She has kids that line up with my kids almost to the exact month.
And we spent countless hours together,
from swimming, to exploring,
to shopping and creating-
and from her I learned a valuable lesson that resonates in my heart,
every time I have a challenge to face head on.
From her I learned that you can do ANYTHING
for a few hours.
What I mean by this, is that any challenge that comes our way,
any obstacle that must be overcome,
any mountain that seems hard to climb,
is only in or on our path for a time.
That time might be short
or a little extended,
but the fact of the matter is,
it is only there for a time,
and than all of a sudden we find the obstacle gone,
or we get to the mountain's peak.

And whatever it was that we experienced along the way,
can take away from
or add to the joy we feel when we find ourselves at the top.

The point is, this is a life to be enjoyed. This is a life to feel happy and peaceful and grateful. There are stresses that are real in life, but they shouldn't dominate who you are. Let yourself BE- happy, peaceful and full of joy. See good in where you are, see hope in where you are going, and see joy in your journey.

There are many people who touch my life daily.
Sometimes they are there for an instant,
sometimes for a lifetime,
and sometimes,
they are there only in memory.
But each person adds to my life a portion that can't be taken away.

What have your friends taught you??